Wireless Society of Southern Maine to participate in statewide exercise

For four hours, beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, members of the Wireless Society of Southern Maine Emergency Communications Team, which meets monthly in Windham, will participate in a statewide drill to test their communications capabilities between various different sites throughout Cumberland County and the state.

Todd Rogers of the Wireless Society of Southern Maine was
a participant in last year's statewide emergency
communications exercise in Maine. This shows the portable
ham radio setup he used during the exercise.
COURTESY PHOTO  

The drill, known as the Simulated Emergency Test, or SET, is an annual exercise, sponsored by the American Radio Relay League, which encourages amateur radio operators from across the country to test their communications skills during a mock disaster.

During the SET, hams are required to quickly establish communications between various Emergency Operations Centers and exchange formal messages and traffic, which contain requests for supplies, medical information, or weather reports, or other information that may be of importance during a disaster. They do this via voice, Morse code, and digital two-way radio, on bands ranging from HF to UHF, as required.

“Similar to previous years, there’s been statewide coordination for the SET, and Maine ARES and others have developed a plan that involves testing both amateur radio and EMA communications,” says Tim Watson, the founder and President of the Wireless Society of Southern Maine, which provides auxiliary communications support for Cumberland County EMA, as well as the National Weather Service. “The SET tests how we respond during large-scale disasters, where commercial infrastructure has failed. In these events, hams are often the only source of communications.”

Ham radio operators have met the challenge of stepping up when needed in Maine.

“The hams in our club are a dedicated group,” adds club Secretary, Brad Brown, of Waterboro. “Amateur radio has a long history of volunteerism. Sure, it’s a hobby and there’s some fun things that we do like lighthouse expeditions or competitive events like contesting, but so many like to stay sharp by providing support for community events, and drills like this, so they’ll be ready to offer their time and expertise when disaster strikes.”

The Wireless Society of Southern Maine’s Emergency Communications Team is participating in their 10th SET. After the event, the participants will do an assessment to determine how well they performed and look for areas to improve upon.

“There’s always new things to learn and ways to improve,” says Watson. "This year, we’ll be integrating Winlink and other digital modes, which are among our more advanced tools for message transmission. Our goal is to deepen our understanding of their capabilities and explore ways to enhance them for future use."

Amateur radios, also known as ham radios, require a special amateur license to use but offer distinct advantages over conventional GMRS radios. Many amateur ham radios are used for general communications among hobbyists, and are great for emergency usage, with the equipment being typically of better quality than average GMRS radios. On average most ham radios on the market have a signal range between 25 miles to 300 miles.

For further details about amateur radio, or the Wireless Society of Southern Maine, please visit http://www.mainehamradio.com <